Brokers Offer Predictions for Darden Restaurants, Inc.’s Q3 2023 Earnings (NYSE:DRI)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) – Research analysts at Oppenheimer increased their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for Darden Restaurants in a report issued on Tuesday, March 14th. Oppenheimer analyst B. Bittner now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $2.26 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.24. Oppenheimer currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Darden Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $7.82 per share. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Darden Restaurants’ Q4 2023 earnings at $2.57 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $7.91 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $8.75 EPS.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The restaurant operator reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 42.51%.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Stephens increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. Cowen lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.76.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of DRI opened at $150.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.47. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $110.96 and a 52 week high of $152.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.16 and a 200-day moving average of $140.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 794 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 2,892 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 14,326 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Richard L. Renninger sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.99, for a total transaction of $739,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,310,240.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.95, for a total transaction of $283,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,069.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard L. Renninger sold 5,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.99, for a total transaction of $739,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,368 shares in the company, valued at $3,310,240.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,229 shares of company stock valued at $1,358,200. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company, which engages in the provision of restaurant services. It operates through the following segments: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining, and Other Business. The Olive Garden segment is the largest full-service dining Italian restaurant operator.